Trials of Osiris
by Baudouin
Summary: Harry Potter doesn't know about the new adventures that await him at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With the help of his new friends can he save the school from Voldemorts return? Original characters inside, no mary-sues! HP revamped.
1. Muggles, Magic, and Blood

**THE FIRST CHAPTER will be a bit repetitive but from here on out I will be detached from the main plot. I will make up new situations and I might shape the relationships of the characters a bit differently. I only wanted to establish the original first-meetings and keep the information that Harry knows in the beginning. Ignore everything about the Sorcerer's Stone in reading this story. Voldemort is questing for a completely different object. Let's assume that Dumbledore destroyed the stone in the first place.**

**Disclaimer:** _I, Baudouin, do not own the rights of the Harry Potter Series and J.K. Rowling's characters. I am merely using them to entertain me and others. I am not making a profit off of my __story and share it to the public for free._

The beginning will be a lbit slow, but I will be arriving to the action segments much earlier in the story. I just have to get all of the introductions and sorting done.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

**Muggles, Magic, and Blood**

Mr. and Mrs. Devoy of Nordale Street, apartment number twenty six, had never once thought of wizards and magic. They didn't even think it was possible that an entire school was devoted to teaching the young witches and wizards. The most impossible idea to grasp was that their eleven year old daughter, Silva, was one of them, a witch. The shocking news came one evening when the Devoy's were eating a home-cooked meal together after visiting their relatives. Their daughter Selene was munching on her chicken quite morosely as Mr. Devoy began to rattle off about his extensive ken on how to make a restaurant really work. Mrs. Devoy looked devoid of all emotion and seemed to be zoning in and out of the conversation. "If I was the owner," He managed to bellow as he chewed on his bread, while his bald head shined in the fluorescent light. Mr. and Mrs. Devoy worked at a local restaurant called King's. Mr. Devoy swallowed the lump of bread and exclaimed, "We'd have ten times as many customers!" Silva rolled her eyes in annoyance as she played with her napkin impatiently. She had finished eating nearly thirty minutes ago; she desperately wanted to leave but Silva had to wait until everyone had their fill. Silva gritted her teeth, the way her father was carrying on she wouldn't be able to leave the table for hours. Her brown hair reached past her chin and had a tint of red to it under the bright kitchen light. Silva's bangs looked as if someone had closed their eyes and chopped them off. She wore ovoid shaped glasses that were slightly damaged.

Her father began again, "Richie was telling me today that we lost nearly a quarter of our customers to that bloody Café on the corner! I have half a mind to go down there and tell those nit-wits that-" A sudden loud tapping sound came from their window that interrupted 's oratory. Mrs. Devoy, awakened from her slumber, abruptly pushed her chair back and jumped up. She strolled gingerly towards the window, unsure of what to think of the disturbance. Once Mrs. Devoy spotted the cause of the sound she jumped away from the window with a scream. Silva hopped out of her chair and rushed to see what it was. She looked out the window with caution and saw a chocolate brown owl tapping the window with its curved beak. "I think it wants to come in," Silva announced excitedly as a wide smile spread across her features.

Silva went over to the door and opened it, her mother protested with a loud roar, "NO!" But it was too late, the owl had already swooped in and dropped a heavy yellow envelope on a worn out armchair and settled itself beside its delivery. Silva closed the door, as it was a bit hot outside. Mrs. Devoy, who was closest to the bird, scrunched up her nose in disgust and stomped over to the bird. "Go away!" She shooed the disgruntled owl in vain. She took a step closer and attempted to grab the chocolate-brown bird but it pecked at her fingers in retaliation. Mrs. Devoy screeched and headed back to the table where her husband and eldest daughter were. "We have to call animal patrol or something dear! It BIT me!" She pointed a thin bleeding finger in the direction of the owl. Silva looked at the creature with great interest, and then remembered the envelope the avian had delivered to her home. She cautiously reached out for the letter by the owl's talons. The owl ruffled its feathers and picked up the letter edgily and wobbled over to her. Silva reached out and took the envelope out of its beak.

She read the address printed in emerald-green ink out loud,

"Ms. S. Devoy

The Smallest Room

Nordale St.

Durden Complex, Apt.26

Guffberg"

Silva wondered how they knew she had the smallest in the room in the house. She shook her head and turned the thick yellow envelope over and saw a blood red wax crest that was sealing the envelope. The girl eagerly broke the seal and opened it up and took out the letter. She could hear her mother wailing out in objection and her father continuing on with the conversation with a nervous edge in his voice. She read the fancy script with wide eyes:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

'_What's a Mugwump?_' Silva thought to herself as she continued to swiftly read down the page.

_Dear Ms. Devoy,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall,_

_Deputy Headmistress*_

Her lips stretched from each side of her face. She had always wanted something like this to happen, sure she wasn't a fairy or could control people with her mind but she was a witch! "I'm invited to a magical school Mum; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard-something!" She declared matter-of-factly as Silva turned to face her horrified parents. "A witch, really? How come I didn't get one?" Silva's sister voiced gruffly, but Silva ignored her sister's vocal pout and read the letter over again. "HOW CAN YOU BE A WITCH?" Mr. Devoy shouted quite angrily as his story got interrupted for the third time. "I dunno, maybe I'm just special like that," She giggled to herself as she began to think of all how much more entertaining school would be now. Mrs. Devoy shook her head violently as she hung up the phone, "Get that animal out of here, and stop talking so crazily."

Silva shook her head and went to fetch a piece of paper in her room to reply to the letter. She took a notebook off her desk and flipped it open to an empty page. Silva ripped a sheet out for her letter and began to scrawl her response:

_Dear Mrs. McGonagall,_

_I want to go to Hogwarts but I'm afraid I don't know how to get there._

_My parents don't have any powers and haven't heard of the school._

_Can you help me?_

_Sincerely,_

_Silva Devoy_

Silva wondered if her letter would reach Mrs. McGonagall before July 31; she hoped the school wasn't too far away that it would take a whole month to get there. She carefully folded up her letter and put it in a plastic bag, 'Just in case it rains' she thought to herself. Silva ran into the anteroom as fast as her feet would take her and handed the plastic bag to the owl. The avian glared skeptically at the bag but took it in its talons none the less. "What are you giving that bird, Silva?!" Her mother shrieked as the bird flew around the length of the anteroom and kitchen impatiently. "My reply!" Silva shouted back as she realized what the owl wanted. She hurriedly pulled open the door, and just as quickly the owl came and swooped down and out the entrance of apartment twenty six. Silva ran outside to the balcony, her short brown hair bobbing up and down with her movements. She watched the owl fly off into the dark night sky and disappear. A satisfied smile came to rest on her face as she looked out dreamily towards the sky.

***

Merit Morley was not a happy little girl, not at all. Her dark stormy blue-green eyes held a strict position as she stared at the thick yellow envelope. She had been invited to Hogwarts, and had a quite different reaction to the acceptance letter than Silva Devoy. When she saw the famous seal that had a lion, badger, raven, and snake on the four sides of the crest with a large H imposed on top, she sighed with disappointment. She called out to her father with an exasperated tone, "I've been invited to Hogwarts." Merit's original choice was to go to Durmstrang, like her father, and learn the Dark Arts. She had been studying on her own for years, and had found the subject was to her liking. "Hogwarts?" Mr. Morley replied quite sourly as if he had bitten on a lemon. "How could this be?" he swiped the envelope out of her hand. Breaking the seal he pulled out the letter and studied it with narrowed eyes. "Well, your mother would have been proud, I suppose," He thinned his lips as he rumbled out his words. Merit sunk in the armchair she had been sitting in and a foul look of disgust came over her face as she began to think of all the things she could have learned and would miss at Durmstrang. "Well, I suppose we must go to Diagon Alley to obtain your supplies," He grumbled as he looked at the second page of the letter. Merit sunk even lower in her chair, couldn't her father put in a word at the people in Durmstrang? Couldn't he use his connections to send her to the most appropriate school? She gazed up to her father with a glimmer of hope but instead of determination to get her in he just barked at her, "Sit up in your chair! You know that is not how a Morley should sit!"

Merit immediately propped herself up in the opulent armchair and continued her sulking. "You have to at least get into Slytherin," He shook his head in disappointment. "There is a professor there, Severus Snape, I've heard rumors of his knowledge of the Dark Arts. He _might_ help you with your Dark Arts training, but it will have to be in private," He ordered with a stern glare at her with his poisoning hazel eyes. Merit's hopes had lifted up a bit, at least she would still have a chance with this Professor Snape. Maybe Snape knew more of the Dark Arts than the teachers at Durmstrang. She wished for a chance to study with him and for Snape to accept her as his pupil.

She found the Dark Arts more interesting than Pure Magic though, but maybe that was just a result of being raised around dark magic. Her father had been a spy for one of the most sinister wizards of all time, Voldemort, and worked in the Ministry of Magic. Her mother had disappeared during the Dark Lord's rise to power and had never been heard from again. Merit did not know much about Voldemort since her father had kept quiet after his downfall. Her family was pureblood, meaning that not one of her family members had married a non-magical human or a half-blood. Merit's father had only joined Voldemort in hopes of cleaning away the 'mudblood slime and muck' of the world. He found that the Dark Lord was the only half-breed he cared for since he was a proponent of the death of mudbloods and muggles. Merit did not care much about blood purity, it had never been something she even considered. She was much too involved with making herself more powerful to care about such trivial things.

The flustered girl tucked her long blonde hair behind a tiny pointed ear and continued to think about her future. _'Hogwarts might not be too bad,'_ Merit began optimistically, _'there's always time for learning Dark magic I suppose and now that I can maybe have private lessons.'_ A placid smile grew on her lips as she began to comfort herself with all the newfound possibilities of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Father, look at it this way, at least I'm not a Squib," She chuckled at the thought of not being able to perform magic. Her father scrunched up his face in abhorrence and left the room in fury. Merit began writing her letter to the school and sent off the spotted owl back to Hogwarts. In only a couple of weeks time she would be on her way to the magical school, and beginning her seven year climb to her goal.

***

Silva was the most perplexed she'd ever been in her life. The McGonagall's reply informed her where the train was that would deliver her to Hogwarts. It also told her that she would be sponsored by the school so that her parents didn't have to worry about trading their money with goblins. This meant that she didn't need to carry any luggage because it had all been delivered when she had bought it a week previously with a purple haired witch. "Platform nine and three quarters," She breathed out as she looked for the pillar she was supposed to go through. Silva turned around to look for any other students going to Hogwarts. She spotted a dark tussled hair boy who looked just about as clueless as her. The only indication that he was attending Hogwarts was the snowy yellow-eyed owl that was locked in a golden cage. "Hey, you!" She shouted as she ran over to the boy, startling him with the sudden call. "Are you going to Hogwarts?" She inquired quite abruptly when she reached him. His lucid green eyes brightened as she mentioned the school, "Yes, are you going too?"

She nodded excitedly, forgetting completely about her previous problem, "Is that your owl? What's her name?"

"Hedwig," He smiled brightly as the girl looked into the cage at the flustered owl. Then the boy's eyes widened a bit with realization, he hadn't introduced himself yet, "I'm Harry."

"Oh, hi Harry, My name is Silva," She nodded with a smile, and then she frowned. "I think I forgot something," She nibbled her lip nervously. Harry looked at her with questioning eyes, and then another wave of realization hit him when he heard the word 'muggle' being said by a red-haired passerby. "Oh the train!" Silva Devoy said suddenly.

"I think those people can show us how to get here," Harry pointed quickly as a large family was waiting by a pillar between the ninth and tenth platform. "Hey, wait up!" She called out for the both of them. "Come on Harry, let me help you with your cart!" Silva and Harry went behind his cart and pushed with all their might and they launched themselves towards the ginger family. The plump woman Harry had seen earlier turned around to see them both rush at her waving their hands. "Oh hello dears," She grinned as they came to a stop in front of her.

"Excuse me, but we don't know how to get to platform," Silva sputtered as her chest heaved at the sudden exercise. Harry noticed the family was now short by three members. "First time? Well don't worry, all you have to do is run into that pillar, and try not to be too nervous," She pointed to the stone mass ahead of her and patted Harry on the shoulder. "We can go through stone?" Silva asked dumbfounded at the new information, she hadn't _really _thought that they had to go through the pillar. "Yes, dear" She chuckled. "Just watch Ron and follow him," She waved to a long-nosed boy who was nearly as thin as the starving Harry. Ron nodded in their direction with a confident smile and ran toward the pillar at full speed. Silva and Harry gasped in surprise as he went through. They then looked at each other and gave each other a determined grin. They parroted Ron's speed and knitted their eyes shut just as they collided with the pillar. When they opened their eyes they saw a scarlet train that had black smoke billowing from its stack. A large black sign with gold lettering hung overhead that read Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Harry turned around and looked behind him to see an iron archway with Platform Nine and Three Quarters written above it in beautiful calligraphy where the pillar had once been. The boy felt someone tap him on the shoulder, "Thanks and see you Harry"

Silva with her brown bob bounced off to the train and left the boy standing there in amazement. "Bye," He called out after her but her brown hair had already disappeared in the crowd.

The station was filled with people pulling large carts like Harry's. The student's owls were hooting loudly above the noise of the parents cooing as their children and giving their last goodbyes. Silva saw a boy standing next to the train who was quite dumpy looking, a stern elder woman was sighing at the boy about a toad he had lost. She entered the train along with a couple of other first years who looked excited and nervous. They were eagerly chattering away about something called Quidditch, it sounded like a sport of some kind but Silva was too shy to ask if it was. Once she passed the twittering bunch she looked down the corridor and saw the train cabins on the left side of her and large windows to the right. Silva wished her sister could be here to see the owls flying up and down the train. Ever since she had gotten the letter from Hogwarts her sister had turned a cold nose to her, and would often mutter under her breath whenever Silva passed by her. It wasn't Silva's fault that her sister had not been invited! If it was up to Silva she would have definitely invited her to come and see the beauty of the magical world. The train sounded off an ear-piercing whistle to alert the students that the train was about to start.

The brunette quickly picked a random compartment and opened and shut the door hastily. She slid down in her seat with her eyes closed, she breathed out a sigh of relief but her relaxation was interrupted by a snide voice, "Who are _you_?" A girl with an almost pug-like face lifted up her eyebrow disapprovingly, she had a haircut similar to Silva but it had no body to it. "Silva Devoy," Silva responded with a severe eye. "And you?"

"Pansy Parkinson," She said in a partisan-like manner as she flipped back her hair and stuck her pug-nose in the air. "You can't sit here, there isn't possibly enough room for Draco, Blaise, and those two buffoons and you," She continued as she glowered at Silva trying to intimidate her. Silva gave a smirk and replied in saccharine voice, "I'll move when the time comes." She wasn't going to budge until her friends came. Silva had already situated herself by the window.

***

When Harry Potter found a compartment that he thought to be empty he opened the wooden door with small glass windows. While he opened the door he was looking over his shoulder at two kids trying to catch a chocolate frog outside his cabin. Harry stood there looking at the two eleven year olds trying to jump up and catch the frog that was now positioned on top of the window. He chuckled to himself as he watched their frantic antics. As he turned around his laughter died down. A blonde girl, who looked about his age, had seated herself next to the window. Her face appeared to be almost against the glass. She seemed to be studying the figures outside the window with a studious eye, as if seeing human interaction was new to her. Harry quietly shut the compartment door as not to disturb her. He then placed Hedwig's cage on the seat across from the girl, Hedwig ruffled her feathers and gave a tiny hoot. Harry pressed a finger to his lips towards Hedwig and she quieted herself in response. Harry picked up his trunk and stood on his tip-toes to push it into the storage area above. Although Harry was slightly used to carrying around heavy things for the Dursley's he had never lifted something as heavy as this. His muscles quivered under the weight. He looked over to the girl to see if he had disturbed her, and he found out he had. Her deep blue eyes gave him a curious look; the sudden eye contact scared Harry to lose his already loose grip on his luggage. The heavy trunk fell down on Harry's foot with a loud bam. Harry yelled out and pulled up his foot in response, "Ouch!" Hedwig fluttered around from the loud noise and hooted angrily at Harry.

"_Trutino Minor_," The girl suddenly called out waving her wand with a flick of her wrist at his luggage. Harry could not see any difference in his trunk's appearance. The girl calmly glided over to the pain-stricken boy and swooped up Harry's trunk in her arms. She then swiftly stepped up on the seat and reached out with one of her hands to clutch at the edge. She speedily pushed the trunk in the storage unit and let go as she jumped down on the ground. "That's how you do it, the spell lessens the weight of the trunk a bit," The girl nodded towards Harry with a stern look on her face. Harry nodded nervously at the girl, and uttered small thanks underneath his breath as he copied the girl's movements with his remaining suitcases. Although Harry did feel as if he was going to fall as he jumped back to the ground he had successfully put up his suitcases without any more bodily injury to himself. Harry looked to the girl to find her stifling her laughter, she spoke up with an amused voice, "Do I look that silly when I'm putting up luggage?"

Harry gave a small laugh as he sat down across from the girl. Now that he had shared a laugh with the girl he felt less nervous. "My name is Merit Morley, and yours?" She reached out her hand in order to shake Harry's. The boy shook her hand, her strong grip surprising him, "Harry Potter." Merit had heard the name before but she couldn't quite remember where. There was a strange silence that settled between them as they pulled back their hands. "That owl of yours is quite extraordinary," Merit coughed as she admired Hedwig. Harry's owl heard the comment and immediately puffed out her chest trying to impress Merit even more. Merit giggled at the act as Harry voiced her name with pride, "I named her Hedwig, after a witch in a book." Before their conversation could continue the train whistled shrilly for the last time. The train groaned as it started up with a jolt and gained speed. Harry watched the red-haired family and platform zoom by it was replaced with blurred houses as they rounded a corner. The door of the compartment opened slightly, the youngest red-haired boy poked his long nose in, "Is anyone else going to be sitting here? All of the other cabins are full."

Harry shook his head in agreement, and Merit gave a curt nod of approval. Ron sat down next to the blonde girl. He took a quick glance at Harry's forehead and look quickly back as if he were interested by something else. Harry noticed that the black smudge was still highly apparent on Ron's freckled nose.

Merit stared at the boy with a peculiar look on her face and then turned her focus back on Harry. "Do you know any spells Harry?" Harry shook his head with a bit of disappointment and embarrassment. Morley seemed to spot this, she spoke with a comforting voice, "Oh, don't worry! I'm sure you'll learn a lot of spells at Hogwarts within the first few weeks."

"Are you really Harry Potter?" A squeak sounded out from the area where Ron was sitting. Harry nodded. Again the girl looked Ron over with a skeptical eye. Ron ignored her harsh gaze, "So Fred and George weren't joking? And…" The freckled boy paused for a moment; he was leaning on the edge of his seat and whispered, "Do you really have that… Well y'know?" He pointed to his own forehead, thinking that it was less of a rude gesture.

"What are you going on about? Why are you asking Harry all of these weird questions?" Morley interrupted, clearly angered and confused by Ron's words. "He's the one that killed… You-know-who, right?" He turned to Harry as if to ask for support. Merit's face went slightly blank as the information registered; her eyes went slightly wide in shock. That's where she had heard it! Her father went on about Hogwarts so she could be well-equipped with information and would not appear ignorant. "So you have a scar where he tried to perform the Unforgivable Curse on you?" She suddenly began to echo Ron's curiosity. Harry nodded slightly and brushed back his bangs to reveal a jagged mark. "I don't really remember anything but a lot of green light," Harry shrugged as if it wasn't too big of a deal. Another silence settled in the air as the two began to process the information.

"So are all of your family wizards?" Harry inquired; he was still lacking knowledge of the wizarding world. Ron began first, as it seems that Morley wasn't as keen to answer the question, "I think so,"

"What about you Merit?" Harry turned to face her with a cheery smile. Merit knew that if she were to tell Harry about her dark pureblood family that he would not be likely to talk to her again. She was sure that if she even mentioned her dad's name that the Weasley, which she knew by hair color, would tell Harry all about her father's supposed past. "I've got five brothers, you saw some of 'em, didn't you, Harry?" Ron continued as if Harry had never asked Merit the question. "Yeah, don't you have twin brothers?" Harry continued as he had seen Merit's discomfort. Maybe she had bad blood or whatever that blonde pointed face boy had said in the shop. He wanted to tell her that he didn't care and shouldn't be ashamed but he didn't want to press the issue around Ron. The flaming haired boy perked up even more, "Yeah, that's Fred and George!"

"What's your name?" Merit intervened, her voice sounding a bit cold.

Ron glanced at her and smiled weakly, "Ron Weasley."

"You have a father in the Ministry, is that correct?" She gave him a warm smile. Merit had noticed how icy she sounded when Ron gave his weak answer. She didn't wish to be on bad terms with the boy, even though she thought he was a bit dodgy. Ron nodded slightly but changed the subject to his brothers, "Yeah, Bill works with dragons in Romania and Charlie works at Grignotts."

"There are dragons in Romania?" Harry's mouth dropped open in amazement.

"Yeah, they have all different types. Bill _always_ rambles on about them. He says out of all of them the Hungry Horntail, or something like that, is the most dangerous! It has spikes all over its body and spits out fire as far as twenty feet!"

"It's Hungarian," Merit mumbled under her breath. Ron, luckily, didn't seem to hear her. He continued his spiel about his father for almost forty more minutes. Ron commented on the crazy pranks that his brothers had pulled on others and about his stuck up Prefect brother, Percy. "Since I have so many brothers I always have to get things secondhand," He complained, his face had now fallen from his previous excitement. A hoarse squeak sounded from his pocket but Ron ignored it. Suddenly it began to wiggle vigorously as if his pocket were possessed by a fat lump. "I think there's something in your pocket that wants to be let out," Merit chuckled along with Harry. Ron laughed shortly as he pulled out a disastrous mess of a rat. Once of its little toes was missing and the fur that covered was long and wiry. "That's just Scabbers. He was Percy's rat before he got an owl. Mum and Dad can't-" Ron's ears went red as he realized what he was about to say.

Merit, although annoyed at Ron stopping in mid-sentence, knew that it was probably embarrassing to not have enough money to buy new things. She had never experienced the lack of luxury but she knew about limitations on spending. Her father had to be the most frugal pureblood in the world. "Owls are pretty expensive, my father refused to buy me one this year," Merit pointed out, trying to cheer up the boy. "Yeah, and before I came here, I had to wear huge hand-me-downs from Dudley. I also had to wear my Uncle Vernon's old socks," He scrunched up his nose as he told them about his wonderful birthday present from the Dursley's. Merit and Ron laughed at Harry's face and the once tense mood had lightened up quite a bit. "So you lived with Muggles? You didn't know anything about who you are?" Merit asked in disbelief. "I didn't know anything about wizards and I just learned about Voldemort when" Harry began but was interrupted by Ron gasping in horror. "Oh shut it Ron," Merit couldn't help herself from scolding him. It was a good thing to say the Dark Lords name. She thought the stupid fear that Ron and her father shared shouldn't be passed on to Harry, the boy-who-lived. "Not saying his name causes even more fear," She added reproachfully.

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, I just didn't remember-"

"Do the lot of you want anything to eat, we've got Pumpkin Patsies, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans," The plump woman in grey robes began to rattle off every name brand candy and food she carried. Merit was the first to scurry over for a Pick-Flavor Sandwich, and a bag of Dragon Fire Drops. She dropped five silver Sickles and two Knuts into the woman's hand. "Thank you ma'am" She dipped her head slightly to the jubilant cart woman as she unwrapped the Pick Flavor Sandwich. It first looked like it was merely two slices of white bread. Merit whispered a few words under her breath and the sandwich took on a whole new form. It was now two slices of wheat bread that deli-styled meat and fresh lettuce and tomato along with other toppings. Harry gaped at it and immediately bought almost every candy on the cart while Ron shook his head at the lady.

Harry found it even more mind-blowing that the food in the magical world had supernatural properties to it too! Harry was so excited he didn't see Ron's mopey face until Merit poked his knee and gestured with her head towards Ron. The freckled boy was now looking at his lap at a sorry-looking sandwich he had pulled out of his pocket. Scabbers was nibbling gluttonously at the corner of it. The cart-witch closed the compartment door and went on her way. "Want to trade?" Merit asked offering her sandwich to Ron. She didn't know why she was making such a kind gesture to such a complaining boy. She told Ron that it was because she was not hungry but inside she felt Ron's disappointment with his life. It was just a sandwich anyways, and they would be dining at Hogwarts. Harry and Merit shared their candy with each other and Ron. 's sandwich was soon forgotten by the trio. It sat beside a famished Scabbers who again began nibbling at the dry corn-beef that was sticking out.

Ron and Harry had stuffed themselves full of chocolate frogs and pumpkin patsies (Merit couldn't taste anything after eating the Dragon Fire drops. They were so hot they made her breath out a short burst of fire!). They began to trade their chocolate frog cards with each other. Harry was stunned at the moving photos and the ridiculous attire of the witches and wizards in them. "Do you know any spells Ron?" Harry asked as he read the back of a Merlin card. "I've tried one before on Scabbers but it hasn't worked yet," He replied as he pulled out his dilapidated wand to show Harry the spell he'd been working on. He whispered a rhyming line and waved his wand over the half-dead Scabbers. A bushy haired girl and an uneasy-looking plump boy appeared in the doorway as Ron performed his so called incantation. "That's not really a spell you know," She told him with an inquiring look. "I've read all of our textbooks; I've learned each one by heart. They were all pretty interesting too. I wish my Mum and Dad knew more about the magic world. They're muggles, so, of course, I had to learn about it myself through our school books Have you seen Neville's toad?" Her speech flew by their ears so fast they barely caught what she was saying. Merit spoke up for the two boys who looked as if they were approached with a calculus equation, "No we haven't"

"I'm Hermione Granger, what are your names?" She asked as she stepped farther into the cabin with the nervous boy muttering behind her. Neville was attempting to gain her attention quietly by his whimpering about Trevor but was severely ignored by her.

"I'm Ron Weasley."

"Merit."

"Harry Potter."

"You're Harry Potter?" Hermione drawled out while turning her ear slightly towards him trying to hear him better. "I've read about you in-" She was cut off by a coughing Neville. "Oh okay Neville! I get it! Bye," Her wild hair swished out of the compartment as she and the worried boy left. Ron shook his head as if getting out of a trance, "Wow that girl Hermione sure has a lot to say. A lot, of which, I didn't understand," Harry and Merit both chuckled at this and nodded their heads in agreement. "I'm sure she's going to be in Ravenclaw," Merit offered as she finished laughing. She toyed with her flat blonde hair absentmindedly. "Yeah, she sounds really smart," Ron nodded in agreement.

"What house do you want to be in Harry?" Ron threw his attention towards Harry who was now nibbling on an unfinished Pumpkin Patsy. "Well," he replied quite honestly, "I don't know much about the houses. Hagrid didn't tell me much about Hogwarts." Ron looked at Merit with a thoughtful expression. The girl, who was still playing with her hair, caught Ron's eye. "Well, there's four houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," She started, mimicking her father's words. "Each house was founded by different people. One of them was Rowena Ravenclaw, who valued academic interests above all others. Then there was Helga Hufflepuff, who valued loyalty and fairness. Most of the time, though, people who are unsure of themselves are sorted into Hufflepuff. Also there's Godric Gryffindor," Merit was interrupted by an electrified Ron. He pounced on the chance and spoke as if he was in a race, "That's the house I want to be sorted in… Well I hope. All of my family's gone there. They said that you have to be brave and kind to be sorted there!"

Merit giggled at Ron's explanation, and the freckled boy's ear grew red. "And then there's Slytherin, right?" Harry brought up between the two. He found it interesting that the houses were named after actual people. Ron's previously happy face melted into a grimacing one, "Yeah, the darkest wizards come from there." Merit felt a tingling sensation in her fist. "Well let's not go making hasty generalizations," Merit commanded through clenched teeth.

"What about you-know-who, Merit? And Slytherin, himself, was positively daft about the whole purity thing," Ron shot back quite scathingly. Merit's shoulder sunk at this, if she were to be cast into Slytherin, would they both refuse to talk to her? She sat quiet, sulking in the corner as Harry shot Ron a reproachful look. "Well I don't know what I said to offend her," Ron spouted off smugly. Harry didn't know why either. He looked at the girl with curious eyes but she had already turned her back to them and was now watching the landscape passing by the window. Merit turned around and looked at the boys with apologetic eyes, and she lied, "One of my family members was in Slytherin."

"Well were they a dark wizard?" Ron asked imploringly.

"No," She gave him a small smirk. "She ended up running a book shop in Bulgaria." It was true, she did have an aunt who was running a book shop, but it was. in fact. a forbidden one. The cabin door opened before Ron could question what type of book store she ran. A pale pointed face boy glided into the room. He was flanked on both sides by heavy-set cavemen-like boys. Merit thought that one looked as if someone had just punched him in the face or insulted his mother. The other held a blank, zombie like expression. The pale, blond headed boy was now staring fixatedly at Harry. "So it is true. You're Harry Potter aren't you?"

Harry replied with a short 'Yes' as he glanced at the two imposing body-like guards. "That's Crabbe and Goyle, my father knows their fathers," Draco said almost nonchalantly, a tint of pride apparent in his voice. "My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," He put his nose a little higher in the air as he mentioned his name. Ron shifted in his seat as he tried to suppress his laughter. Merit winced at Draco's introduction to himself; he was one of the purebloods her father had corresponded with. Lucius worked in the ministry along with her father. Although the two were far from what you'd call friends, Mr. Morley had impressed upon Merit to make friends with any purebred she crossed. He really emphasized a friendship with the same boy that stood in front of her. She had missed part of the conversation as she was contemplating what to do. "You shouldn't associate yourself with that kind of wizard," Draco sent a sneer in Ron's direction. "So come with me Potter," The blonde boy voiced with a wide smile while holding out his hand but Harry didn't take it. "I'll choose who I'm going to be friends with," Harry replied quite coldly. Draco scoffed in disbelief and a rose colored tint surfaced on his cheeks. Merit looked up at Draco and studied his features a bit more. His grey eyes looked unusually stormy as he thought up something to say. "You better watch who you're with _Potter_," Malfoy seethed. "If you continue to go around with people like the dirt poor Weasleys and that giant buffoon Hagrid people will start to think-"

"What makes you think your money and heritage makes you worth more?" Merit called out with a similar sneer marring her face. Ron, who had been ready to leap and fight Draco, was now looking in shock at Merit. "I'm a pureblood and that's better than being a mudblood like you," The snide boy had jumped to the conclusion that her blood was tainted by her offensive comment. "I'd have you know, you gormless Malfoy, that my line's purer than yours and less inbred! Ron's family is purebred and is worth ten times more and they're more liked!" She exploded into a flight of rage. Draco's face had turned from pink to beet red. Goyle and Crabbe began to puff themselves up as they snarled at the trio. They would not move though, not until their _master_ Draco Malfoy had ordered them to. "Come on Crabbe and Goyle, it's beneath us to try and reason with muggle-lovers," Draco sneered, his voice laced with contempt. Goyle closed the compartment door behind them with a meaty hand. "That was great Merit. You really told him!" Ron nudged her side with an exuberant grin. She turned pink from the compliment and shrugged her shoulders slightly. Merit didn't look as happy as she should have, Harry thought to himself. Later, he decided, he would question why Merit was acting so strange.

Her father would be less than impressed by her words. In fact, she told herself, that if she was even allowed back home for winter break, she was sure there would be a long lecture of her mistakes. She sent a weak smirk to Harry who was looking at her worriedly. The Granger-girl passed by complaining about the noise and told them that the train was about to arrive at Hogwarts. "You should put on your robes, and stay out of trouble," Hermione told them as she escaped from their cabin, once again shutting the door behind her. Ron and Harry looked towards each other bewilderedly but followed her instructions, as she was more informed about this place anyways. Merit had her robes folded neatly beside her. She put them on with a neat toss as Ron squirmed into his.

"Arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be in five minutes. Leave all personal items on the train; they will be delivered safely and securely at the school."

***

Silva snickered at Pansy. Her so-called friends had not come by or even sat down in the cabin she had laid claim to. She wondered if Pansy had made it up as she stared out the window dreaming up her own version of Hogwarts. Silva turned around to see the door being slammed open by a pudgy boy as he pushed his way through. "Come on Goyle, move!" A disgruntled voice said behind another equally plump boy that was launched into the cabin. He stumbled and fell over on the other boy that was taking a seat by Silva. This fall created a domino effect in which Pansy was the end domino. Pansy squealed loudly as she screamed at the boy to get off. The boy who had now entered the room had a bemused look upon his face, "Get up you bumbling idiots!" Goyle and the other boy, who Silva learned was Crabbe, sat beside Pansy. The pushy blonde then sat himself next to Silva as he smoothed out his robes. He seemed to have completely missed Silva's presence until he turned to her with a wary eye. "Who are you?" Draco drawled as he studied her presence. She was already wearing the Hogwarts School Uniform and surprisingly, for secondhand quality, they looked almost brand new. "Silva Devoy," She told him with a certain amount of strength in her voice. She didn't want this boy to try and bully her around like his fat companions. "My name's Draco Malfoy. Are you a pureblood?" Draco's eyes narrowed as he asked the question. Silva tried to remember what the purple haired witch had told her about the wizarding world but couldn't, for the life of her, recall a single thing about purebloodedness. It sounded like it was a good thing to be so she replied with a strict, "Yes."

Draco, who had once held a skeptical eye, was now beaming cordially at her. "Good. Do you want to go into Slytherin?" Again, Silva must have zoned out when she went to Diagon Alley. Well, she couldn't help it really! If you had all of those fantastic and new sights swirling around you and someone was rattling off boring facts, what would you do? Listen?

She quickly explained her ignorance to the boy, "I'm not from this country, so I don't know too much about Hogwarts." Pansy looked over at the girl with an envious look flitting across her features. Draco was hers and now some girl was stealing _her_ time to talk to him. "Oh really, that's quite interesting. That's probably why I've never seen your name before!" He replied quite vibrantly. "My father made me remember all of the pureblood families by heart so I wouldn't accidently taint my reputation by associating with mudbloods," A smug expression appeared on his facial expressions as he bragged about his knowledge. Silva nodded in agreement. "Slytherin," He continued. "Is one of the best houses to be in, you know. My father was in Slytherin and I'm pretty sure that all of my family members were in Slytherin," Draco seemed overly excited as he tried to show off more. Silva thought the boy to be a bit boastful but he seemed to be the only one worth talking to in the cabin. His features were pleasant to the eye, even though his nose was quite pointy and always shoved in the air his baby face was quite attractive.

An official voice rang out above their heads, "Arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be in five minutes. Leave all personal items on the train; they will be delivered safely and securely at the school." They all looked at each other with hyper grins. Finally they would be arriving at the school that Silva had been told about all this time! She looked out the window to find thick forests and mountains swishing by at a quick pace. "Let's go, Silva," Draco called out as he opened the compartment door. Pansy, Goyle, and Crabbe had already left. Silva and Draco joined the queue of people that were in the hallway of the train. Pansy was visible in the crowd, her pug nose turned to a tall black boy. She was muttering something into the scowling boy's ear. After about a couple minutes of waiting (the time had been shortened by Draco because he pushed through the throng to get to the door) they had arrived onto the platform.

"Come on firs' years! Over here!" A large man with a thick bushy beard and jet black eyes waved. Silva gaped at his size; he had to be nearly ten feet tall! A lantern the size of Silva's head was clasped in one of his calloused hands, it giggled slightly as he beckoned them over. "Only four 'an go on the boat, no 'ore than that!" He called out gruffly as he led them down to a dark, gloomy lake. A large castle was perched on a cliff across from it. It looked like something you'd spot out of a history book with its large battlements and sky high towers.

Dark wooded boats bordered the shore of the lake and bobbed up and down with the water. The violet sky that hung over their heads looked as if it were about to cry. The students quickly hobbled over to the boats and got in them with difficulty. Silva joined Draco, Crabbe and Goyle on the boat, despite the feral eyes Pansy sent in her direction. The giant bellowed out a command and the boats began to move over the glossy murky lake. "Put your head down Silva," Draco hissed as they came near an archway bombarded thickly with ivy. She had been staring dreamily at the castle. A shiver of excitement ran through her. Silva glanced at Draco and saw that excitement had overthrown his snooty attitude. He was smiling eagerly as their boats docked at an underground wharf. The ground was composed of shiny pebbles that glinted in the light of the giant's lantern. Silva stepped on top of the ground carefully and Draco, surprisingly, aided her in keeping balance. After they had gone through a damp cave, where a blonde headed girl slipped and nearly cracked her head on the rocks, they climbed up a flight of worn stone stairs. A gargantuan oak entrance-way stood before them.

The giant knocked on the door three times and talked to a couple of first years in the front. Silva, Draco, and his bodyguards could not hear a single thing the giant was saying. They were located at the very back of the crowd. Silva could see the tangled mess of hair and recognized it as the boy she had met before she boarded the Hogwarts Express. She wondered what house he would be sorted in as the ancient oak door swung open.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I am _attempting _to avoid all Mary-Sue situations. This story is being shown to the public to have others help me improve my writing and so that I can maybe beta sometime in the future. If anyone ever reads this, thank you for your time! Please review and give me your opinions on the story and how it's going. I am changing up the story to go in a different direction because if I didn't I'd just be giving you a shortened version of Harry Potter with original characters stuck in it. That wouldn't be too fun and I'd feel like I'd be copying J.K. Rowling too much.

I will be making some references to the book and I will attempt to keep a trace of the original relationships in order.

I actually like Draco Malfoy more than I show in the story. Later on you will be able to see my small fan-girling towards him and other characters people usually detest. Oh, yes, and I enjoy Ron's character too but my first real impression of Ron was very low.

_*Taken from page 51 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, 1998._

* * *


	2. Not Slytherin!

**Disclaimer:** _I, Baudouin, do not own the rights of the Harry Potter Series and J.K. Rowling's characters. I am not making a profit off of my __story and share it to the public for free._

* * *

**Chapter One**

**Not Slytherin?!**

* * *

A man swung the door open with a single celerity flick of his wand. The pallid male, who was obviously a teacher, was dressed in jet black garb. The only hint of any color apparent on his clothing was the stark white collar and cuffs that peaked out from the edge of his seemingly-funeral attire. The giant was very open about the shock this appearance had on him. The man turned his hook nose side to side as his jagged coal eyes scrutinized the crowd. "Professor Snape 'ere are the firs' years," The colossal man grunted out.

"Yes, who else would the midget-sized scoundrels be?" Snape drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The gargantuan bearded man shifted uncomfortably as he let the first years inside. The fresh students, appearing to have been so heavily impressed by Professor Snape, huddled to the farthest edge of the entrance as they passed by him. Silva, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were the last to enter the Hogwarts building. Professor Snape slammed the door shut with another rapid flick of his wand. He streamed past the students, pushing the unwise who didn't step out of the way, with his large black cape billowing behind him. A blonde girl rushed up to the man and began to speak to him. The greasy-haired man turned around on the heel of his foot and glowered at the same girl who had tripped in the cave. Draco leaned over to see Snape leaning down to reprimand the girl. He snickered and Silva heard him mutter, "It serves that blood traitor right."

Silva scrunched up her face slightly in confusion but Draco waved it away as Snape began to talk. "I'll tell you later," He whispered under his breath with an amused tone. Silva could barely hear what the stern professor was talking about; he didn't appear to be making an effort to be heard either. The already quite hushed crowd completely silenced as Professor Snape glided over the flagstone floor; he lead him over to another large oak door where hundreds of rowdy voices came out from within. He once again turned to the first years, his jet black hair swishing around his head in the abrupt movement, "Listen."

A sadistic smile jumped on his features as every one of the eleven year olds in the hallway hesitantly looked at his foreboding figure. "There are four houses in Hogwarts, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff. Once you are sorted you will be earning house points for your own house until the end of the year feast," He paused as he saw a couple of students pushed each other around. He continued with an irritated edge to his voice, "Luckily, you have not been sorted yet. The house that earns the highest points will be awarded the house cup. Slytherin has won the cup six years in a row. That leaves _very _little hope for any of the other houses" A wide smile crossed his features but it immediately disappeared again. "We are about to enter the Great Hall, where you will be eating from now on. There will be absolutely _no_ talking while you or others are being sorted. I hope you haven't made too quick friends now," He sneered as he swept his soulless sinister orbs over the crowd, "for they may be your house's enemies." Just as the students gave a distrustful look around them he dreadfully uttered, as if he loathed saying the hospitable words, "Welcome to Hogwarts."

The oak entrance swung open, both doors this time. They revealed a magnificent scene that washed away all of the previous fears that Silva had been experiencing. Four dark tables stretched across the great hall, each one with medieval-simplistic designs. Golden and silver plates scintillated in the hallway where the previously elder students had been chattering over. All of their eyes turned on the small group that Snape began to line up. Silva turned her head up as she looked at the light source, floating cream white candles. The ceiling was non-existent or at least appeared to be. It displayed the swirling purple clouds that had been outside before. Tiny white pinpoints of light shone through the hazy clouds that moved sluggishly over the sky. Silva hadn't seen stars before in her life; she had always lived too close to the city to see them. Even the universal embodiment awed her as she stood in line, waiting to be sorted. The girl felt an unexpected rush of icy coldness pass through her. Silva screamed as she saw the ghost come out through her body, she attempted to swat it away but it was to no avail. "Aw, teensy, weensy first year is frightened by Peevesy?" The poltergeist cackled as he twirled out of the girl and high up into the air. Draco, who stood in front of Silva, would have laughed if the ghost had not gone through him too. He gave her a nervous smile as he turned his white blonde head slowly.

An older witch drug over a dilapidated stool and plopped something on top of it. Silva leaned out of the strict line that Snape had formed and saw that the hat was just as ancient looking as the stool. Surely, she thought, that hat would be sorting the new arrivals. What was so special about some battered battle–torn hat? She would soon find out for the hat jumped up a couple inches in the air and opened its eyes and mouth that were formed by rips. The hat coughed out an amazing amount of dust and muttered something to the elder woman as she whipped out a long list from her pocket. Her once pinched and strict face turned into a slight smile as the hat talked to her.

"What a year this one will be,

And all the others that follow.

The future holds something tangible to see

Heroes and villains, all will hallow

Now I may be ancient and unsightly

A cynic, I am not

But you will never spot a cap so lively

And no other will be more taught.

Nothing will be hidden inside your heads

Not a single thought will escape my grasp

So need not a word be said.

Now I will tell you of houses, so great, and I will be fast

If you are bold, courageous and easy to trust,

Then Gryffindor is where you belong.

If you happen to be patient and just,

Hufflepuff will be your throng

Ambitious and royal?

Slytherin will be your righteous patriarch

Perhaps you are witty and never quick to over-boil?

Sapient Ravenclaw will become your trademark

So put me on your head! Don't be afraid!

Look around you,

This cap has sorted them and they've stayed!"

The great hall erupted with an uproarious applause that echoed in Silva's ears. She couldn't see what the big deal was, the song the hat had so vivaciously sung was awesome, but only because it rhymed. Draco nervously went up and down on his tip toes as the older witch shouted out instructions.

"Hannah Abbott!" She called out with a booming voice as the students at the four tables settled down.

_'Oh great, we've got to go through the alphabet,' _Silva thought with a bored expression. Although her last name began with a D, Draco's did not and she would have to wait with Crabbe and Goyle before she could meet up with him. That was only _if_ she got sorted into the same house as them. That was a big if. Silva desperately hoped she would for she liked Draco, he was quite hilarious went he was being malicious to others.

"Silva Devoy!" The old witch called out sternly causing Silva to shrink at the beckoning. She gave a nervous flitting smile to Draco and he nodded solemnly in her direction. She kept her head down as she strode across the median of the two middle tables. Finally she came to rest on the stool, which was lucky because her feet was about to give out from embarrassment anyway. The austere witch dropped the hat on top of her head with a quick gesture.

_'You are fairly confused about this aren't you?'_ An amused voice inquired. Silva almost jumped at the firm voice that jumped into her thoughts. She gave a silent nod in agreement but the Sorting Hat no longer spoke to her, it just sat calmly on her head humming to itself. _'It's quite obvious what house should be in, but the traits haven't shown themselves yet. You haven't shown your true self yet but in the house I'm about to put you in should…'_

An outburst of speech came from the hat that nearly caused Silva to come crashing down to the floor, "SLYTHERIN!" A huge grin jumped onto Silva's features, she felt stupid at being so happy as she leapt off the chair with a bounce. Pride filled her up as she walked to the table that was clapping for her vigorously. She was so festive that she didn't happen to see the dirty looks the three other tables sent her way, not like she would have cared. The witch, whom she now knew as Professor McGonagall after talking to a couple of Slytherins, trudged through the list slowly. The Sorting Hat sometimes called off the house as soon as it was placed on their head. Sometimes, the hat took several minutes to evaluate the child's character. It all annoyed Silva, that is, until Malfoy joined their ranks. He took a seat across from Silva, in between Crabbe and Goyle, and gave her an over-confident smirk, "I knew you were a Slytherin from when I first laid my eyes on you."

"Merit Morley!" McGonagall called out, her voice already sounding raspy.

***

Merit blinked twice at her name, it was finally her turn and she could barely believe it. Her hands were trembling slightly but she walked down the aisle with a confident stride. Her face did not betray her, however strong her trepidations were, her fears still jumping around inside her. Mr. Devoy had made sure to teach his daughter the proper way of expressing emotion, that is, by possessing none at all. The blonde took a deep breath as she positioned herself on the stool. The pinch-lipped witch gave her a reassuring nod as she began to place the hat on the nerve-wracked girl. Instead of waiting, Merit pulled the hat down, which surprisingly went down over her eyes. She could hear a couple of scattered chuckles in the Great Hall and a sigh from the witch standing beside her.

_'Brave, very brave but very cunning. A skilled liar. A bit arrogant but kind none the less… Very determined… '_ The patchy hat voiced warmly in her thoughts. Before the Sorting Hat could announce the house she quickly retaliated against the statement, _'No! I can't be in Gryffindor! I should be in Slytherin!'_

_'You do have the great makings of a Slytherin but I have looked through the entirety of your mind. The Slytherin house would just annoy you and your ethics. You belong with Gryffindor,'_ It stated with resolute conviction. She wouldn't believe it, she couldn't! _'Your friends over there, waiting to be sorted, they wish to in Gryffindor, right?'_ She nodded silently. _'Now look over at the Slytherins I've just sorted.' _ Merit had secured a grip on the brim of the hat and pulled it up over her eyes. She could now see how horrible the Slytherins looked as they sneered and snickered at her while Ron and Harry gave her reassuring smiles. "GRYFFINDOR!" Merit leapt off the stool in fright and McGonagall quickly retrieved the Sorting Hat that had fallen on the floor. She rushed towards the loudest table that was cat-calling her. When she sat down next to red-haired twins they and everyone surrounding her gave her a slap on the back. This and the fact that she was going to receive a howler from her father when he found out annoyed every inch of her.

All of her worry only began to increase as Harry's name was called out and the hat was tugged down on his head. The Sorting Hat almost appeared as if it were biting it lip as it was thinking. Merit had been so sure the boy would have wanted to be in Gryffindor! What if he, the boy-who-lived ended up in Slytherin! She caught the sight of the young boy's green eyes as they flicked over to her. She gave him a hopeful smile, she was leaning on the edge of her seat waiting for the house to be called and when it did she found herself cheering just as wildly as the other Gryffindors.

"Harry! This is great!" She felt like her heart would burst from the excitement as he sat down next to her. "We've got Potter!" The twins next to her hooted out in unison while another flamed head boy tried to calm them down. A specter sitting next to Harry gave him a creepy smile and patted his arm, Harry replied with a shudder. Harry turned to Merit with a wide smile on his pale features, Merit returned the gesture. "I'm really happy we're in the same house," Harry's green eyes seemed brighter more than ever now as he spoke to the blonde. "It would have been a killer to be split up after knowing each other on the train, wouldn't it?" She nodded whispering under her breath as McGonagall sent a jagged glare at them. Harry nodded and then pointed at the chair where an awfully panicky boy was sitting on the stool. It was Ron Weasley, one of the last students to be sorted. The hat roared the name Gryffindor once again and the boy crumbled in a seat across from Harry next to an authoritarian boy who congratulated him. Merit heard Harry's stomach grumble and she felt her own twist painfully. It had been so long since their last meal on the train, it had to have been nearly six or more hours ago. Merit then looked up at the High Table to see the kind Hagrid that had led them to Hogwarts. She and Harry had both given the colossal man a small wave. They saw a brightly robed wizard suddenly stand up from a simplistically detailed golden chair. His blanch white hair shone in the Great Hall ways and rippled as he strode over to a golden podium lit up by candles of various sizes. The wrinkles that rested on his face gave him a kind and fatherly look, as did his twinkling blue eyes. "That's Albus Dumbledore," Harry muttered as he stared up at the elder man with wonder. Dumbledore's arms flew up to either side of him as if he were about to embrace the hallway. Instead he merely beamed at them as he spoke, "Welcome to all new and old! I would like to say a couple of words before we begin our feast! Pronk! Hodge Podge! Lillypilly!Xylophone!"

Merit's eyebrows knitted together in utter confusion as she turned around in her seat to face the feast in front of her. "Is he daft?" Harry verbally asked the question that had been brewing in Merit's mind.

"He's the greatest wizard of our time," The authoritarian boy replied as he began to pile potatoes on his plate.

"He is crazy," One of the twins agreed.

"Completely off his rocker, actually," the other one nodded with a stuffed mouth. Merit sat bewildered as she began to shovel a load of fresh fruit on her plate, she question the twins as she did so, "Dumbledore, is he our headmaster?"

They both grinned mischievously, one of them answered "Yeah, and he's the best there is." Merit took a glance at the headmaster again as she popped a dewy strawberry in her mouth. He was laughing festively as he looked at the pinch-lipped McGonagall over his crescent moon spectacles. Merit couldn't believe that such a fervid and foolish looking old man had received the title of headmaster. Only his eyes, Merit thought, were a window to any sign of his acumen. When the girl had enough of sizing up the headmaster she saw that Harry had piled up almost every food that was within an arm's length onto the glittering plate before him. "Geez, Harry, did those muggles starve you to death?" Merit chuckled as he crammed a poufy Yorkshire pudding into his mouth. Harry grinned, his teeth spotted with the gravy, and immediately shut his mouth again as Merit winced back at the display. Harry swallowed and licked his teeth clean, he muttered awkwardly with turning red, "I've just haven't eaten this well in a while."

Ron, Harry, and the twins were too enamored with the food selection in front of them to start off any worthwhile conversations. While Percy and Hermione were chatting away about Hogwarts, which Merit lent an attentive ear to (even if they made the subject inexplicably boring)every now and again. Otherwise Morley sat there staring around at the ghosts and talking to one Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpinton. He displayed to her why he was called Nearly Headless Nick, which caused a couple of Gryffindors to sputter out their food in shock. Ron dropped the large turkey leg he had been nibbling on and turned a light shade of green as Nick flipped his head back on. The freckled boy stared at the chewed turkey leg as if it were festering with maggots.

Once the desserts arrived Ron swiftly regained his hearty appetite as he took up a fat cream filled éclair in his teeth. Merit fidgeted uneasily when they began to talk about their families and blood lines. She could say that she was a pureblood, after all the Weasleys were, but she'd rather not think about her father or any other Morley at the present. Harry languorously pulled his attention towards the High Table where Professor Dumbledore was talking animatedly to Professor McGonagall. Hagrid was downing a watery golden liquid in his silver goblet. Harry's attention then turned to the sallow man that had led them into the great hall and the empty chair beside him. He could understand the reason why no one wanted to sit next to the unpleasant looking man but the absence didn't seem like it was normal.

"They just got someone to fill in the post for the Defense against the Dark Arts job this morning," Percy claimed with a pompous air about him. The green-eyed boy shrugged at the information as he began to nibble on his treacle tart. Honey-like flavor flooded down on his taste buds as he chomped down the dessert. He closed his eyes and treasured the taste. Nothing, he decided, was better or made him more happy than a warm treacle tart. Harry sighed as he finished the last bit of it, every part of him contented with the world. This was going to be a great school, and he would be experiencing seven years of it and it would be without any Dursleys around! Harry sighed in contentment and smiled softly to himself as he reached for another treacle tart.

***

Marie Redgrave was a second year in Ravenclaw and was absolutely astonished by the appearance of Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, sitting across the way from her . She thought that it was merely a rumor that had been floating around; Harry Potter attending Hogwarts. Marie had actually snorted at the idea when her mother mentioned it with an upturned brow. She stared at him as he stuffed a huge amount of treacle tart into his mouth and savoring the taste. Marie turned to a girl with a large magazine that read, _'The Quibbler' _on its front with bold letters. She was an eccentric first year that Marie had known since she first met her at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour a year back. "Luna, do you know anything about the boy who lived?" The pale haired girl flipped her paper down and gave Marie a dazed look, "No, not much, but the Quibbler says that he lives with a bunch of muggles that have an infestation of Gully Faeries in their home." Marie squinted at Luna's response, unsure of what to make of it, "Yes, of course." She turned her head back towards the scrawny boy. She wondered how a small messy boy like him could have ever defeated the frightening Dark Lord. There was no way! The thought of it irritated Marie to no end, to have a living impossibility sitting right in front of her with no explanation whatsoever. Marie mulled over the idea of talking to the savior of wizarding kind as she chomped down on her dessert. Professor Dumbledore began to rattle on about Filch's requests, which in all actuality sounded more like commands, for the student's behavior. Quite sporadically the blanch haired wizard announced his own demands of the students, "As you all should know the Forbidden forest is in fact very much Forbidden and that if any student dares to approach it without permission they will lose, at least, a hundred points from their house and serve detention for the rest of the year." He gave the pupils a twinkling smile as he nodded and sat back down. Marie barely paid attention to Dumbledore, why would she, a Ravenclaw, be caught near the Forbidden Forest? She was more likely to brawl with a grotesque giant and win than enter those ominous woods.

Before she knew it the students had been dismissed and Luna was dragging her out of her seat towards the door with a frighteningly slow pace. She began to softly ramble on about her father's most recent article that Marie had almost unforgivably not read. The Head girl led them up to their room, five beds to one, where Luna nestled herself in a recently graduated student's bed. In the Ravenclaw dormitory people often switched beds in order to be more at peace in their surrounding environment. The bed happened to be across from Marie's which meant more quality time together. She enjoyed spending time with Luna, she really did, but sometimes she felt like plugging up her ears when she had an overdose of it. Marie flopped back on her bed and sneaked underneath the covers. She was exhausted from the trip and she hadn't experienced a fun trip on the Hogwart's Express. Marie loathed public transportation, especially the muggle kind. Her breath would always escape her while her heart raced within her chest. Now she was in the comfort her the cloud-soft bed of the Ravenclaw dormitory. Her eyes fluttered against the sands of sleep but it was to no avail she fell deep into her dreams of scrawny boys and ice cream.

* * *

We are on our way to the new grand adventure of Harry Potter! I would like to point out, only after reading a comment an author made on her profile, that in no way, shape, or form am I "rewriting" Harry's adventures because I think the old ones were horrid. I am merely writing this story to start out fresh with the bright eyed Harry and create a new adventure that could have been taken. I really hope that you all understand that. Well, read and review! Give me tips on how to improve my story or if you found some parts of my story boring or interesting.

-_Baudouin_


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